


The Road Not Taken

by burnintoash (funnymorning)



Category: Winner (Band)
Genre: AU about AUs, Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2016-02-21
Packaged: 2018-05-22 11:09:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6077151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/funnymorning/pseuds/burnintoash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Seungyoon is just trying to get back to Taehyun. Even if he has to jump across universes to get there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Road Not Taken

**Author's Note:**

> This is what happened when you marathoned two seasons of Fringe over the weekend. Heavily inspired by the world building of Fringe but there is no FBI or evil corporate involved. Only a few mad scientists, and a lot of made-up science.
> 
> Title from "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost.
> 
> As usual: unbetaed and all mistakes are mine.

“Don’t forget to pick up the dry cleaning after work!” is the first thing Taehyun says as Seungyoon pads barefoot into the kitchen, barely awake and direly in need of a coffee.

“Good morning to you too.” Seungyoon mumbles and blinks his way towards the coffee machine. 

“Sorry,” Taehyun says and comes up next to him, handing him an espresso capsule. “I have a late shift tonight, and you always forget to pick up the dry cleaning.” 

“I will do it,” Seungyoon promises, and turns his head a little to give Taehyun a kiss. Taehyun sighs and rests his chin on Seungyoon’s bare shoulder, his arms automatically wrapping around Seungyoon’s waist and both of them just wordlessly staring at the coffee machine whirling to life. 

“Let’s go on a vacation.” Taehyun says, out of the blue. 

“Vacation to where?” Seungyoon asks.

“I don’t know.” Seungyoon can feel Taehyun shrugging against his body. “Some place we can afford, obviously. A beach maybe?”

“I heard Bali is nice this time of the year.” Seungyoon says and grabs a cup from the overhead cupboard for his coffee. “I can ask for some leave days next month.”

“Good,” Taehyun says and nudges his head against Seungyoon’s neck. “Let’s go away for a couple of days and have lots of sex.”

Seungyoon laughs as Taehyun completes his sentence with a firm slap to Seungyoon’s butt. 

“You horny bastard.”

“I can’t help it,” Taehyun sings and heads towards the chair where his jacket is draped on. Seungyoon immediately misses the body warmth next to him. “My boyfriend is too hot.” 

“Lucky,” Seungyoon smirks and brings his cup of coffee back to the dining table, watching Taehyun puts on his biker jacket on top of his paramedic scrubs. It should look weird, but Taehyun always manages to pull it off somehow. “Supper tonight?”

“Yeah,” Taehyun nods. “My shift ends at 10.” 

“I’ll pick you up at the hospital.”

“Pick up the dry cleaning first.” Taehyun reminds him again before leaving and Seungyoon just waves him off. A guy forgets to pick up dry cleaning for one or two times (ok, more like 4) and Taehyun never lets him forget it. 

*

He is running late. Seungyoon knows he is going to have to rush if he wants to pick up the dry cleaning since the store closes at 8 and the clock is already ticking half past 7. 

It is just that the shipment they missed last week came in today so Seungyoon has to do double the paperwork. Actually, his colleague didn’t come in today, so it is quadruple the paperwork. And he cannot leave anything for the next day because scientists can be real assholes when their chemicals and all their nifty little devices do not get delivered to them on time. When Seungyoon finally finishes checking the stock and filling in the papers for tomorrow distribution route, it is already closing to 8. 

The whole building is dark and empty, despite the third floor where the actual research labs are. Seungyoon breaks into a run once the elevator brings him to the ground floor, thinking whether or not he should give a call to the dry cleaning store to wait up for him. 

He thought it was an earthquake at first. One moment, he was sprinting out of the building, and the next, he felt this surge running past through him, like a swish of strong wind that passes through the insides of his body and suddenly, he was on all four on the ground. 

“What the,” Seungyoon whispers to himself. He is feeling light-headed, and there are little tremors all over his body like tiny goose-bumps. He was busy during lunch so he didn’t eat much – maybe he is far more hungry than he thought. 

When he tries to stand up, nausea comes and hits him out of nowhere and Seungyoon has to immediately steady himself by leaning on the nearest wall, and struggles to catch his breath. He should probably ask Taehyun to check him later when he picks him up.

Shit. The dry cleaning. 

The store is only about two block away from his office, and parking is a bitch to find in that area, so Seungyoon runs all the way, ignoring the nausea in his head that is getting stronger and stronger. 

He must have taken a wrong turn because the brightly lit Ginseng Chicken restaurant in front of him is definitely not the dry cleaning shop he was heading towards. But then again, he can see Mr. Kim, the owner of the dry cleaning store, inside the shop, manning the counter. 

Seungyoon was here just last Friday. There is no way they could have changed business within a single week. 

No. He’s just lost, and mistaking any other white-haired fat-bellied men for Mr. Kim. The nausea is getting worse. 

Anyway, it is already half past 8 so chances of picking up his dry cleaning are pretty slim even if he reaches the actual store. He’ll just have to deal with Taehyun bitching about it. 

Seungyoon just sighs, getting a coke from a nearby vending machine and heads back to the office where his car is parked.

He decides to drop by at the hospital where Taehyun works first. It is still pretty early for Taehyun’s shift to end, but Seungyoon wants to get a quick check-out since he usually does not get easily get sick. Maybe, he caught the flu or something

Yuna, the 40-something nurse who is always giving Seungyoon and Taehyun home-cooked food because both of them cannot cook to save themselves, is manning the reception counter when Seungyoon walks into the hospital. Taehyun is nowhere to be seen, but that is expected – he is probably in the medics room or out on a call. 

“Yuna noona,” Seungyoon greets and leans over the counter. “Any GP in house? I am not feeling very well.”

Yuna looks up at him with an expression that seems like a cross between curiosity and anxiety. “Do I know you?”

Seungyoon stares at her for a second. “It’s not funny, noona.”

“Sir,” she stands up, looking more concerned than curious now. “Are you ok? Did something happen?”

“Where is Taehyun?” Seungyoon says, frantically looking around the hospital room. It is freaking August, and it is not like Taehyun to pull an April’s Fool. 

“Who is Taehyun?”

“Nam Taehyun. The head medic here!” Seungyoon grits through his teeth. “The guy you just invited to your daughter’s birthday party two days back. What is wrong with you?”

“Sir, I don’t have a daughter.” Yuna says cautiously, and Seungyoon can see her nod towards the hospital security at the front door. “I think you might have taken something. Let me get a doctor to come and check you.” 

“What is happening to me?” Seungyoon whispers. Everything is somehow … wrong. Like the color of the plastic chairs – they are supposed to be green, not blue. They were always green. There is a coffees station in place of the vending machine that Taehyun always complained about because it is not working most of the time. Yuna is looking at him like he is a complete stranger, and Seungyoon is pretty sure the nurses’ uniform has always been dusty pink, not the blue ones Yuna is wearing. 

“I need to go.” Seungyoon utters, stumbling backward. 

“Sir, you should really see a doctor.” Yuna is saying but Seungyoon just turns and runs out into the cold night. He catches his breath when he eventually reaches the parking lot and takes out his phone. He needs to call Taehyun and ask him if Seungyoon really is going crazy. 

Except he cannot find Taehyun in his contact list. 

Taehyun probably changed his contact name in Seungyoon’s phone again. He once jokingly put Taehyun’s number as “Nam Wifey” in his phone and when Taehyun saw it, he changed it to “Boss” so Seungyoon was lost about a day and a half. 

It is definitely more frustrating this time around. 

He should just go home first, take a shower, maybe grab a drink or two because this night is getting weirder and weirder, and he needs something to calm him down. He still has plenty of time before he needs to pick up Taehyun anyway. 

*

The passcode is not working. This night could not get any worse. 

As far as Seungyoon knows, Taehyun hasn’t changed the passcode yet. He has this habit of generating a random number online and using it for the passcode every six months for maximum security. Taehyun is not really a big fan of Seungyoon’s habit of using his birthday for all possible lock codes. 

Seungyoon sighs loudly after his third attempt at entering the passcode fails and bangs his head a couple of times against the door for good measures. 

Great. He cannot get into the house, he cannot call Taehyun and there is something wrong with the hospital. And his head feels like he just gets off of a spinning roller coaster ride. 

He would have fallen over when the door is suddenly pulled open if it wasn’t for someone catching him just in time. 

Seungyoon didn’t know Taehyun’s shift finishes early. 

Except the person who is holding him is way too small and short and female to be Taehyun.

“Did you drink too much?” The girl who is holding him laughs. “How can you forget the door passcode? It’s your birthday.”

“Who are you?” Seungyoon pulls himself out of the girl’s hold, and says in shock. “Why are you in my house?”

“Seungyoon, are you alright?”

“How do you know my name?” Seungyoon asks. He thinks he is very close to hyperventilating. “Where’s Taehyun?”

“You really drank a lot, didn’t you?” The girl says and grabs at Seungyoon’s hand. That’s when Seungyoon sees the matching rings on both their ring fingers – he doesn’t remember putting on this ring. Hell, he doesn’t even know he has a ring that looks suspiciously like a wedding ring. 

“C’mon,” the girl is saying and pulling him into the house. “You can sleep it off, and I’ll make you that chicken stew you like in the morning.”

“No,” Seungyoon mumbles and blindly stumbles into the house along with her pulling. “Who.. what?”

The living room is his living room, no doubt. The guitar lying in the corner next to the small potted plants, and the brown leather couch he scored during last year Chuseok sales – it is all there.

Except there is also a giant framed photograph on the wall – one of him and the girl, both dressed in what is unmistakably bridal hanboks. 

“What is happening to me?” Seungyoon says for what feels like the hundredth time tonight. Or at least, he tries to. The nausea that is growing worse and worse under his skull finally takes over and he barely has time to see the girl yelling in shock before he crashes down onto the floor and the world blackens. 

*

“Seungyoon.” 

Somebody is shaking him. There is a hot sensation on his forehead and he can tell his fingers are shaking slightly if he focuses. 

Seungyoon blinks his eyes open and comes face to face with the spinning ceiling fan.

“Seungyoon. Oh my god, you are awake. Thank god.” He turns his head to see the girl from earlier looking down at him in genuine worry. 

Shit. Not a dream then. 

“Here, drink some water first.” She says and hands him a cup. It is his favorite one. The one he had since high school when he won a billiard championship. “We should get you to a hospital.”

Seungyoon would say no, but he really does not know what to do at this point. 

Everything is wrong. 

“Oh, your phone is ringing.” The girl says and points to Seungyoon’s dress shirt’s pocket where his phone is vibrating. Seungyoon doesn’t even notice it. He just feels so numb – it almost feels like his brain has gone frozen from the frantic figuring out of what is going on. 

He doesn’t recognize the number of the caller, but he still answers it. 

“Kang Seungyoon?” The man on the other end of the line says. 

“Who is this?” 

“Hi, sorry. I am sorry if this sounds weird, but did you notice anything strange happening around you within the last few hours? Staring from around 7 PM in the evening?”

The hair on the back of Seungyoon’s neck stands up. “Who are you?” He hisses into the phone. “What the hell did you do?”

The girl turns around and looks at him curiously. 

“Look,” the man says softly. “I think it’s best if we meet and talk. Can you come to your office? Level 3.”

“The research labs?” Seungyoon frowns. 

“Yes. It’d be best if you can get here as soon as possible.” 

“Fine,” Seungyoon snaps and hangs up. 

He does not have a single clue what is going on, but at least, there is someone else – even if they are a stranger – who confirms how strange this night has been for Seungyoon. 

“Where are you going?” The girl calls after him when Seungyoon stomps out of the house. Seungyoon doesn’t answer her. 

His phone rings when he is driving towards office, close to hitting the speed limit. He looks down at it to see someone named “Eunji” – the caller ID picture is one of him and the girl earlier smiling widely into the lens. 

Seungyoon turns the phone off, and hits the paddle.

*

Someone is waiting for him in the office parking lot when Seungyoon pulls into the parking space.

“Kang Seungyoon?” The man says as soon as Seungyoon steps out of the car. “Great. You are here.”

“Who are you?” Seungyoon asks him. “What is going on?”

“I am Dr. Song Minho.” The man says and extends his hand towards Seungyoon. “I think you’d better come with me into our lab.”

*

“Parallel universes?” Seungyoon breathes the words as the guy who was waiting for them in the lab, who introduced himself as Dr. Lee Seunghoon, finished talking nonsense – or at least, his words sound like nonsense to Seungyoon. “Are you fucking with me?”

“We have been studying the multiverse theory since we were in college.” Seunghoon says, undeterred. “It took us a total of 8 years to build this machine and we were testing out. We have been testing it for about 6 months, incrementing our sample bit by bit.”

The machine in question, is standing next to Seunghoon, and looks more like a CAT scan machine than a universe-bending-machine or whatever it is called. 

“I told you we shouldn’t have boosted the accelerator.” Minho turns to Seunghoon and says. Seunghoon just gives him a glare and turns back to Seungyoon. 

“We had some mild success. A couple of notes went through from this side. We got a paperclip back last month. We weren’t sure if it was sent by someone on the other side or it was pulled in by the gravitational force the machine produces.”

“I don’t understand,” Seungyoon mutters. 

“After the paperclip,” Seunghoon continues like he doesn’t hear Seungyoon. “It’s more mundane things – a test tube, some Subway wrappers. We – I thought if we boost up the accelerator, it would expand the gravitational field the machine produces and the wormhole will remain open longer. Might even let us communicate through it.”

“And you think,” Seungyoon swallows roughly, trying his best not to vomit. “I came through that … thing .. from another universe.” 

“Wormhole, yes.” Seunghoon nods. “The machine short-circuited and went down. At first, we thought the accelerator was just overloaded, but we checked the footage.” 

Lee Seunghoon suddenly turns and plays a video clip from the monitor in front of him. Seungyoon leans his head to the wall and stares blankly at the clip playing in front of him. 

“What am I supposed to be seeing?” He asks, the footage looks like it is taken with a red sheet over the lens.

“This is taken with infra-red infused camera.” Minho says. “This was a few days back when the test tube comes through. Check here.”

Minho points at the screen where the machine in the footage is emitting what looks like a soft ripple in the air for a short while. 

“That’s the gravitational field the machine generates.” Seunghoon says. “And here, you can see, after it settles down, there is the test tube that came through the wormhole.”

“Why is it vibrating?” Seungyoon asks, looking at the test-tube like shape on the footage oscillating like it is being occupied by an army of little ants. 

“Our best guess is the atoms haven’t settled after they travels through … literally space and possibly time.” Minho answers. 

“And tonight, when the machine short-circuited,” Seunghoon says and opens another clip. “This was the gravitational field.”

“That is way bigger than the first one.” Seungyoon says in alarm as the footage shows the ripple – which now looks more like a giant wave – extending to outside of the camera frame. 

“Yes,” Minho nods. “So, we got all the security footage we have in this building and put them through infra-red. Because we need to measure just how large the field was.”

“That’s when we saw you.” Seunghoon says and points to the screen, where Seungyoon is on the ground trying to get up. 

And he is oscillating, not unlike the test tube earlier. 

“Shit,” Seungyoon says with feelings. 

“We have never had a living being through the machine,” Seunghoon says, sounding unsure for the first time tonight. “We weren’t exactly sure what has happened to you, so we got your number off the employee directory and gave you a call.” 

“I am..” Seungyoon says, feeling like his breath is getting shorter and shorter. “This is not my earth? My universe? Got what do I even call it?”

“That is our best hypothesis.” Minho nods. 

“What about the two of you then?” Seungyoon asks. “Why aren’t you, I don’t know, not from here?”

Minho and Seunghoon look at each other. 

“Could be a couple of reasons,” Seunghoon says. “We were at the eye of the storm. A version of us doesn’t exist in whichever universe it pulls you from, etc.”

“How very convenient.” Seungyoon snarls. 

“We are really sorry, Seungyoon.” Minho says. 

“You are sorry?” Seungyoon laughs dryly. He has never had a panic attack before, but he feels like he is seconds away from having one. “You stole my life. My whole life. Everything’s gone in just a flash because of you mad scientists, and you are sorry?”

“Mr. Kang Seungyoon,” Seunghoon says. “Your life is still here. That is the point of the multiverses. Everything exists in parallel. Apart from a few changes, this is still your life.”

“A few changes?!” Seungyoon yells. “I can’t find my boyfriend anywhere. And apparently, I am married to a woman I have never seen in my life, and you think there is only a few changes?”

Seunghoon grimaces. 

“What happened to the me here?” Seungyoon asks, suddenly realizing it. “I mean, I existed here, right? God, this is confusing. The parallel me. What happened to him?”

“We don’t know yet.” Minho says unsurely. “Like I said, the only thing that were sent through are small things so we couldn’t identify whether they were being replaced or exchanged.”

“Exchanged?” Seungyoon mutters. “You mean the Kang Seungyoon from here ended up on the earth I am from?”

“That is one theory, yes.” Minho nods. “But if the existence of Kang Seungyoon here was replaced by you instead of being exchanged…”

“I just disappeared from that earth?” Seungyoon asks. 

“That is a possibility, yes.” 

A possibility. There is a possibility that somewhere out there in the universe (or universes), Seungyoon just disappeared and left Taehyun alone. 

“Send me back,” Seungyoon whispers. “You need to send me back.” 

“Mr. Kang ..” Seunghoon starts.

“You built this fucking doomsday machine in the first place. You can send me back.”

“It is not that easy.” Seunghoon says. “First, the machine is short-circuited so we are going to need a few days to rewire it.” 

“And even if we fix it,” Minho interrupts. “There is no guarantee that we can send you back to where you come from.”

“What?”

“That’s the point about multi-verses.” Minho says, gesturing wildly. “There are more than two, and we can’t pinpoint which one you are from, because there are literally infinite amount of them.” 

“The popular premise is that,” Seunghoon says, “parallel universes come out of decision points. Every time you make a decision, even something mundane like choosing between espresso and latte in the morning, a parallel universe is created based on the what-ifs. Now imagine 6 billions people making that kind of decisions all their life, that is trillions and trillions of universes coming into existence. To send you back into one very specific one, it would be like trying to shoot a gun at a target blindfolded while you are being surrounded by identical targets that are all moving at light speed. It is one in an infinite chance.” 

“I don’t care,” Seungyoon breathes out. “I don’t care what kind of quantum physics or whatever shit you have to do. You need to send me back because you brought me here. I am just a clerk. God, I work in logistics for fuck’s sake, and you made me lose every single thing I know.”

“Seungyoon,” Minho starts.

“So, you are going to fix the damn machine. I don’t care where I end up. I will find you two on wherever I end up, and make you get it right until I reach my way back home.” 

Minho gives him a resigned look. 

“Or I can just kill you both and then myself.” Seungyoon says bitterly. “I have literally nothing left to lose.”

“We’ll try our best.” Minho says, and Seunghoon turns to gape at him. “You are right. This is our fault, so it’s our responsibility. We will do our best.”

“You’d better.” Seungyoon says. 

“We need to take some sample from you first – some DNA, a few blood sample. But after that, you should probably go home for tonight and rest.” Seunghoon says. “You look unwell.”

“Perks of travelling through a wormhole,” Seungyoon grits through his teeth, and gets up. “Take what you need, and start working on it.”

Minho nods and opens up a medical briefcase. 

Parallel universes. 

For real.

*

He has his wallet with him, luckily. So, Seungyoon figures the best option will be to go and hole up in a motel for a couple of days until Seunghoon and Minho fix their machine – a universe bending machine, seriously – and he is ready to go home.

Of course, that is assuming that they can fix it in a couple of days. 

Now that he has calmed down (probably because of the sedative pills Minho had slipped him earlier), Seungyoon can feel the difference. Maybe it is his mind tricking him or whatever, but it is almost like everything has been moved an inch. Not a change that is immediately in your face, but something unsettling enough to keep nagging at the back of your head. 

Seungyoon tries his best to shake it off because if he continues thinking about it, it can only end in his insanity. The night is crazy enough as it is. 

God. He hopes the Seungyoon from this world did cross over into his world.

He wonders if Taehyun would be able to tell the difference. 

Which gets him thinking. The girl from earlier. His – no, his other self’s wife – Eunji. 

If the Seungyoon from here is anything like him, he’d have loved her to death. They are married after all, aren’t they? He would be worried sick about her thinking if Seungyoon had left her, as much as Seungyoon is worrying about Taehyun now. 

He can’t just leave her like this. He owes himself that much. 

*

Eunji opens the door with red puffy eyes. 

“Oh god, Seungyoon.” She mutters and runs into his chest, leaving him to catch her before they both go crashing to the ground. “I was about to call the cops. God, where were you? What happened?”

“I..” Seungyoon starts, patting her back unsurely. “I am sorry.”

“What is wrong?” She asks, looking at him like he is going to just run off again. A part of Seungyoon feels like doing so. 

He knows he is not exactly cheating on Taehyun, but it feels like it. 

“I was.. earlier at work, I fell down from the stairs doing stock check.”

“Oh my god,” She mutters and pulls him into the house, making him sit on the couch. “Were you hurt badly? Have you seen a doctor?”

“I am fine now. And yes, I saw a doctor. He said I might have some mild concussion. And, erhm, some memory loss.” 

“Memory loss?” She utters the words in surprise. “That doesn’t sound like a mild concussion. We need to get you checked out by a specialist or something.”

“No, I’d be fine.” Seungyoon stops her before she can get up. “I just got back from the hospital. Did some check. He said I’d be fine in a couple of days. I just need to rest.”

“Well,” Eunji says stubbornly. “I still want to speak with him. I need to know what kind of care you need. Do we need to hospitalize you? What’s your prescription?”

“I don’t need to be hospitalized.” Seungyoon says tiredly. “He just told me to rest for a couple of days, and you know, clear my mind. It’s a concussion, not some brain problem.”

“A concussion is a brain problem, dummy.” She says, and suddenly, it reminds Seungyoon so much of Taehyun that it aches. “Are you sure you don’t need a specialist? I can call my cousin. She works at a private clinic, remember?”

“No, no.” Seungyoon shakes his head. “Don’t bother her. I will just sleep it off or something. I’m sure I’d be better in the morning.” 

“Ok,” Eunji nods unsurely. “I can take a day off tomorrow to look after you.”

“No, I’d be fine.” Seungyoon says quickly. It is awkward enough as it is. He doesn’t want to spend a whole day around her and slips up. “But I think I need to sleep now. I took some medicine, and I am starting to feel drowsy.”

“Right, yes, of course,” she says. “Do you need anything?”

“No,” Seungyoon shakes his head. “I am just gonna wash up and sleep. Thank you.”

“Alright,” she says, looking partly worried and partly sad. “Good night, Seungyoon.”

“Good night.”

*

Seungyoon doesn’t fall asleep until the sun comes up.

He misses Taehyun like he has never been before, even though it has hardly even been 12 hours. But sometimes, missing someone isn’t about the time. It’s about the distance – and in this case, there is literally an immeasurable amount of space between them. 

And Seungyoon is not even sure he can go back. There is nobody in this universe or the next who is.

Eunji cuddles herself closer into him, burrowing her head into the groove of his neck. It is so different. Holding her. The breadth of her shoulders, the hair that goes well past ears, the softness of her skin. Everything is so different from Taehyun’s. 

_God, I miss you._ Seungyoon mutters, and blinks his tears away. 

He only hopes someone is holding Taehyun right now, wherever he is.

*

Eunji takes some convincing to go to her work until she reluctantly leaves, after getting Seungyoon to promise that he’ll eat lunch with her. 

Seungyoon looks around the house once she is gone, feeling like a thief even if it is his own house. Most of the stuff are familiar, some are new, some are missing – the ones bought by Taehyun, which makes sense, of course. He tries to watch some movies – there are actors and movies that do not exist in his world – but his mind cannot keep still. So, he finally decides to get to the office, and visits Seunghoon and Minho.

They look exactly the same as yesterday, albeit a lot more disheveled and tired, like they haven’t left the lab since Seungyoon last saw them. Seungyoon would feel bad under normal circumstances, but this is too far away from normal.

“Seungyoon!” Minho calls at him once Seungyoon knocks onto the glass door, and lets him come in. “I was about to call you. Jinwoo, erhm, one of our colleagues, Dr. Kim Jinwoo, run some tests on your blood, and it seems like you are perfectly healthy.”

“Great.” Seungyoon says. “Too bad I am still in a different universe.”

“We are working on it.” Minho says, and points at Seunghoon, who is trying to type and scribble on his notepad at the same time. 

“I thought there would be a lot more actions.” Seungyoon says, gesturing at the empty lab. “I thought you are going to fix the machine.”

“It’s not Lego, Mr. Kang,” Seunghoon says from where he is sitting. “We can’t just plug and play. Huge amount of calculations need to be done first before we can even put a single part in.”

“Movies have lied to you,” Minho nods and goes back to his own computer monitor. “Science is not about people in lab coats running around with dramatic music playing in background. It is 80% boring calculations and 20% testing.”

“Basically, it’s as exciting as watching paints dry.” Seunghoon comments. 

“Well, I thought I’d come over and check on your progress,” Seungyoon shrugs. 

“No offense, Mr. Kang,” Seunghoon turns to look at him. “But I could be calculating on how to make a nuclear bomb instead of a wormhole machine right now, and you won’t be able to tell the difference.” 

He has a point, but Seungyoon takes immense pleasure in glaring at him until Seunghoon mumbles a sorry and looks away guiltily. 

“And I have a question too.”

“Go ahead,” Minho nods. 

“You said before that the reason you weren’t … I mean, the other versions of you haven’t crossed over is because they might not exist in whatever universe you opened the door to?”

“I said, one of the possible reasons,” Seunghoon says. “And it is quite possible. My mom and dad met at a grocery store, but if my mom in another universe decided not to go buy her cereals on that day, they wouldn’t have met and boom, there won’t be a Lee Seunghoon running around and building wormhole machines over there.”

“So, my boyfriend, the one from that other universe, he can just not exist here?”

“50-50 chance.” Minho says. “I mean it metaphorically, by the way. The actual percentage would be a much more complex calculation.” 

“Right,” Seungyoon nods. 

“Don’t pull on that thread, Mr. Kang.” Seunghoon says. “We are trying our best to get you home, so I’d advise you to just sit tight, and not go looking for your boyfriend from another universe.” 

“Why not?” Seungyoon asks. “What could happen?”

“Nothing world-changing, but there is no point.” Seunghoon says. “Let me be blunt with you. Chances are if he exists, he doesn’t know you, so even if you find him, what are you trying to achieve? It’d only bring you unwanted pain.”

Minho sighs from his chair. “He hasn’t slept in days, so his social skills are a little rusty.”

“No, it’s fine.” Seungyoon shakes his head. “He’s right. I was just, I don’t know, trying to make at least some sense in anyway I can.” 

“I am, again, terribly sorry.” Seunghoon says. 

“Just focus on the machine.” Seungyoon shakes his head. “I need to go meet my _wife_ for lunch anyway.”

*

“Mom is coming for dinner, by the way.” Eunji says over lunch. Sashimi and rice rolls: Taehyun would have loved it.

“Your mom?” Seungyoon mumbles.

Eunji stares at him. “Yes, Seungyoon. My mom, who lives in New York. She will fly over for a quick dinner.”

“Sorry,” Seungyoon mutters. “My head.”

“Right, of course.” Eunji sighs. “I am sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped.”

“So, my mom is coming for dinner?” Seungyoon says. “Why?”

“I told her you got a concussion. She wants to see you.”

“Why the hell would you tell her that?” Seungyoon asks in disbelief. 

Eunji looks confused. “Why wouldn’t I? She’s your mother.”

“I am sorry,” Seungyoon sighs into the palms of his hand. “I am just. I don’t want her to worry, that’s all.”

“It’s not like you are dying or something.” Eunji mumbles. “Just let her mother you for a while, would you?”

“Fine,” Seungyoon nods.

“Plus, you know I love the stew she makes.” Eunji winks at him, and Seungyoon can only smiles back a little. 

Taehyun does too. 

“Can I ask you something?” Seungyoon asks.

“Yeah, go ahead.” Eunji nods. 

“How did we meet?”

Eunji stills for a moment. “Why do you want to know?”

“The doctor said if I can re-familiarize myself with the past, I might remember things faster.” Seungyoon lies. 

“Well, ok.” Eunji shrugs. “I am kind of sad you don’t remember how we met though. It’s your favorite story to tell.”

“It is?”

“Yeah, because it makes you sound like a hero.”

“A hero?” Seungyoon laughs. “Me?”

“Yeah, as hard as it is to believe.” Eunji wrinkles her nose. “Let me see. 2010. Six years back. I was still in college back then, but you …”

“Just started working.” 

“Yeah,” Eunji smiles at him. “So, I was in Hongdae and I was just blaring music through my earphones. I still do it these days, and you’d nag me to death every time I put on the volume too loud. Anyway, there was a drunk driver and I didn’t hear him or the people shouting behind me. I mean, the dude almost run over an old lady, and I never heard anything. And he would have run over me too if you didn’t pull me off the road in time. My knight in a cardigan. I bought you coffee to say thank you, and well, here we are.”

“You were wearing a pink sweater with a red backpack.” Seungyoon whispers. He knows this – the girl in the pink sweater. He had seen her for months in his dreams, until he started going to therapy. 

“It is working?” Eunji smiles brightly. “Are you remembering? God, do you remember how you almost stepped on that poor old lady while trying to get to me? She scolded your ears off afterwards.” 

“I ..” Seungyoon nods blindly. “Yeah, I think so.”

_Except that wasn’t what he remembers. He remembers a car bumping into a sidewalk stall, and knocking an old lady down to the pavement. And he stopped to help her up. He remembers seeing a girl in a pink sweater ahead of the car, and he remembers yelling at her to get out of the way instead of going to her._

_And he remembers the ugly sound when the car crashes into her, and people yelling all around him._

_The paramedic who arrived at the scene declared her dead on the spot, and gave Seungyoon a small blanket and a hot cocoa to get over the shock of seeing a girl just got run over in front of his eyes._

_Two weeks later, Seungyoon asked that paramedic out._

“Seungyoon,” Eunji is calling at him. “Are you alright? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Seungyoon shakes his head. “I think I am just remembering some stuff.”

“Are you sure?” She presses. “My lunch break is almost over, but I can take the half day off if you need me to.”

“No, it’s fine.” Seungyoon says and smiles at her. “I will see you later.”

“If you are sure,” Eunji says, looking less than convinced. “Maybe you should just go home and rest for now. I’ll see if I can get off early.”

“Sounds good,” Seungyoon nods, and heads out. Eunji even comes with him to the taxi stand before sending him off with a wary look in her eyes. 

In his universe, Eunji is dead. 

Taehyun always says that he’d never know. Seungyoon has carried the guilt of not being able to get to that girl in time even though he could have saved her. It gets to the point where he has to go see a therapist because he can’t bear the weight on his conscience. Taehyun always says that Seungyoon does not even know if he could have saved that girl. 

Well, guess he knows now. 

*

Mom comes over a little after Eunji gets back, and Seungyoon almost lifts her off her feet when he runs and hugs her.

He knows, technically it is not his mom (or she is, he is not sure), but it feels good. She looks the same as he has always remembered, and he feels like she is the first face that is familiar in this world, like a steady rock in a storm. She is wearing the dress Seungyoon got her for her birthday last year, and she is smiling like she always does, and it is more effective than any sedative in calming Seungyoon down. 

The only difference is that she is making her signature pork stew here, in his kitchen, rather than bringing it over in a box. 

Plus, there was never a time when Seungyoon had seen her laughing and whispering adoringly at Taehyun in the kitchen, like she is doing with Eunji right now. 

It is not that mom does not like Taehyun – she is always polite to him and treats him well. It is just that Seungyoon also knows she is hoping Taehyun would leave him someday and Seungyoon would settle in a more traditional relationship – like the one he has here with Eunji.

The only reason she was able to cope with Seungyoon coming out to her in high school is because she always thought Seungyoon being bi means there is a chance for him to settle down with a nice girl instead of a nice boy. But Taehyun happened, and Seungyoon knows – it has just been him and mom for all his life, he knows her – that deep down, she does not want it Taehyun to be the one Seungyoon is spending his life with. 

Seungyoon thought he is over it, that he can deal with mom being a little standoff-ish with Taehyun. At least, it is better than some of his friends’ families who have outright cut them off. But seeing mom like this, smiling and joking with Eunji like she is her own daughter, it hurts a little. This is what he wants to have with Taehyun. Mom is the most important person to him, and he just wants her to love Taehyun like that. 

*

“Are you sure you are alright, dear?” Mom comes up to him and asks when he is doing the dishes after dinner. “Are you taking your medication?”

“Yes, mom.” Seungyoon smiles at her. “I am fine.”

“A concussion,” she sighs. “You need to be more careful.”

“I just slipped, that’s all.” Seungyoon shrugs. “Nothing serious.”

“But you need to take care of yourself more than ever now.” She says, voice serious and face stern. “You are about to be a father yourself. You can’t just run around carelessly like a teenager.”

The plate that he is washing slips out of his hand and into the sink. “I am about to be a what?”

“Oh god,” she gapes at him. “Did you even forget about Eunji’s pregnancy?”

“Mom,” someone says and Seungyoon turns around to see Eunji standing at the doorway. “It’s not like he can choose what to forget and what not to.”

“Then, why didn’t you tell him?” Mom asks, but Seungyoon can only focus on Eunji. He has a child. There is a child of his, right now, growing inside Eunji. 

“He’d remember in a few days anyway.” Eunji laughs. “Although, I am starting to think I should have. His face looked exactly the same as the first time I told him. So funny.”

“I…” Seungyoon blinks. “I didn’t know.”

“Well, you do now, so don’t go slipping and falling around any more.” Mom tsks at him and asks Eunji to go and sit down. 

He has a child.

*

“Can I touch it?” Seungyoon asks, once Eunji slips under the covers on the bed. 

Eunji looks at him for a second, before laughing and rolling up her night blouse so that her belly is showing. 

“You always does that.” She says as Seungyoon puts his hand over her barely round stomach. “I am only a couple of weeks in. I am not even showing yet.”

“Yeah, well,” Seungyoon shrugs. 

“You even asked me once if it is kicking. Like, it doesn’t even have any limb yet but you want to feel it kick.” 

Her stomach just feels like a smooth span of skin, but knowing that, there is a child of his forming right under the palm of his hand, god, it is such a strange feeling that is so overwhelming that it could choke him. 

“But it’s always nice to have belly rubs.” Eunji yawns and pulls over her eye mask. “Don’t stay up too late.”

“Sure,” Seungyoon whispers back. 

He ends up staying late anyway, one hand on Eunji’s bare stomach and another twisted in the material of his shirt. 

If he thinks mom is the difficult part of his relationship with Taehyun, he is wrong because this is. This is the part that he and Taehyun can only talk about when they are both drunk so that they’d have an excuse to pretend that it never happened the next morning. This is the part where Taehyun would catch him staring at the playground in their apartment complex, and silently slips his hand into Seungyoon’s like a silent “I know”. 

This is the part where he has honestly thought about migrating to somewhere else with Taehyun because while it is legally possible for them to adopt a child in Korea, raising a kid with two dads in Korea is going to be not only painful for them, but for the kid as well, and he could never let his kid go through that kind of environment. 

This is the part where in his darkest hours, Seungyoon has thought about giving into his desire for a family that will fit in and makes life a lot easier. And, sometimes, he wonders if Taehyun does too. 

He dreams of a little toddler in a pink sweater, running into a car. He couldn’t save the child and both Taehyun and Eunji are standing at the sideline, looking at him with hatred in their eyes.

*

“The machine is ready.” Minho calls two days later. Seungyoon hasn’t visited them. He spends the past two days in the same cycle – wake up, eat, watch some movies, flip though the mountains of albums in the house, call mom, eat with Eunji, stay up until she is asleep next to him, and repeat. 

“When should I come in?” Seungyoon asks. 

“Whenever you are ready to go, I guess.” Minho replies. 

Whenever he is ready. Right.

*

Eunji is calling for delivery. Turns out, in both world, Seungyoon ends up with someone whose cooking is even more horrendous than his own. 

“Hey,” Seungyoon says as she puts down the phone. “I am going to go .. out for a while.”

“Where?” She asks. “I just called for food.”

“I know. I’ll be back in a sec. Just need to buy something.” 

“Ok,” she raises an eyebrow. “Don’t fall down again.”

“I won’t.” Seungyoon smiles. “Just, I just want you to know that you are a wonderful person, and I can see why I’d loved you.”

“That is a weird way of saying I love you.” Eunji says. “Is everything ok?”

“Yeah,” Seungyoon nods. “I am fine. I’ll see you later.”

“Alright. Can you get me some ice-cream by the way? I can’t stop eating ice cream since this little one shows up.” She says, rubbing her hand over her belly. Seungyoon folds his hand over hers. 

“Yes, of course. Bye.” He says out loud. 

_And sorry._

*

“Are you sure it’d take me back to where I was from?” Seungyoon shouts over the whirring noise of the machine.

“No,” Seunghoon answers. “We tried, and I can try to explain you the science behind it, but we are going out on a limb here ourselves.”

“Thanks for the confidence, really.” Seungyoon sighs. “So, I just, what? Step into it?”

“Yes, that’d be the most effective approach.” Minho nods. “We wish you the best of luck, Seungyoon.”

“Me too,” Seungyoon sighs. 

“Can I ask you a favor?” Seunghoon says, and Seungyoon turns to him. “If you are back to your world, can you find me there? If we exist there, I mean. Please find us and tell us to never boost the damn accelerator.” 

“Wouldn’t it be much more effective to tell you to destroy this machine?” Seungyoon asks. 

“I know us,” Seunghoon shrugs. “We would have you dragged out by security if you even looked wrong at the machine, but you can try.” 

Seungyoon can’t help but laughs at that. “Alright, fine. I’ll try.”

“We are hitting the maximum velocity soon. Seungyoon, you should prepare yourself.” Minho says. 

“Any idea what I might see in there?” 

“Not a clue,” Minho says. “Prepare for take off in 5.”

“Well, that’s it then,” Seungyoon says over Minho counting down in the background. “Lord help me.” 

“Goodbye, Mr. Kang.” Seungyoon hears Seunghoon before he steps into the round gateway of the machine, into nothingness, like he just freefalls off a cliff.

*

No. Nothing like freefalling. His feet are on solid ground. He can tell that much, but he is too disoriented. 

“Oh my god!" Someone yells and Seungyoon opens his eyes. Or maybe they are already opened. He doesn’t know. _Focus_. He needs to focus. 

It is daytime, bright and warm, and there are people around him, noises and bodies. He is standing. There is a plastic bag in his hand. 

Where is he?

“Hey, is she ok?” Someone yells and bumps him from the back. Seungyoon almost stumbles onto the ground, but the person doesn’t even apologize and runs past him. Towards an old lady lying on the ground. She is clutching her knee and whimpering and there are people next to her, mumbling and pointing down the street. Pointing at a car that is out of control and speeding downwards. 

Eunji.

Seungyoon could not spare any time or thoughts about where he is, not when the car is rolling straight towards Eunji who is showing no sigh of being aware of her surroundings. 

The bag in his hand drops and he breaks into a run, almost stepping onto the lady lying on the ground. 

_Please. Please. Please. Not again._

He catches her by the strap of her red backpack and pulls her roughly onto the pavement, a fraction of time before the car runs into the fire hydrant which was directly in front of her before. 

“Oh god,” It is Eunji, a lot younger and smaller, but unmistakably her. “Oh god, I could have died. Oh my god. Thank you. Thank you so much.”

So, this is 2010 then. Fuck. Where is he?

He cannot tell if this is his original universe or his second one, because apparently, Seunghoon and Minho had not only sent him across space, but back in time. So far, back in time. 

“Mr., are you ok?” Eunji is asking. 

But why here? Why this point of time? What is so special about it that he is here and …

Decision points.

That’s what Seunghoon called them. The points in your life where you make a choice and it spans into multiverses. Maybe, the law of physics or mother nature or even God does not like people messing around with the space and time, and decides to send Seungyoon back to the biggest decision point of his life. 

It is 2010, so Seungyoon doubts he can go and find Seunghoon and Minho for answers. They said it takes them 8 years to build the wormhole machine. Seungyoon is pretty sure they won’t have the knowledge that they had back then … and by back then, he means in the future. God, this is confusing. 

“Hello?” Eunji is waving her hands in front of his face, apparently more concerned with a catatonic Seungyoon than her near-death experience. 

“Sorry.” Seungyoon mutters. "Hi."

“Thank you so much,” Eunji says. “I can't hear anything if I have these headphones on.”

“You should really be more careful.” Seungyoon tells her.

“I will, from now.” Eunji smiles at him. “I don’t even know what to say. Can I buy you a cup of coffee or something? To say thank you.”

Seungyoon was wrong. Saving Eunji wasn’t the decision point after all. Well, it might had been in his original universe, but not here. Not anymore. Saving her life is a given, not a choice he has to make.

The choice he has to make is now.

He knows. He knows that he can come to love her. If he says yes to her now, he will eventually come to love her and have a family that he has always wanted – the calm, peaceful, completely ordinary family where he can be both a good son and a good parent. 

He does not even know if Taehyun exists here. 

“There is a café down the street that I really like.” Eunji says to him. “Are you sure you are ok? You keep zoning out.” 

“I am fine.” Seungyoon nods. 

He has to choose. 

The thing is he knows he can be happy with Eunji in a life where he is not aware of Taehyun. But he is now. He knows Taehyun is out there somewhere, whether in this universe or the next, and Seungyoon can’t. He cannot give up on Taehyun. Maybe he cannot get everything he wants with Taehyun, but that’s what life is, isn’t it? Taking certain things and letting certain things go – a balance you have to keep minding to make the most out of it. 

“I am really sorry,” Seungyoon finally says. “But, I have someone I really need to go and meet.”

“Oh,” Eunji replies. “Well, that’s a shame.”

“Yes, I guess.” Seungyoon smiles at her. “Just, please take care of yourself.”

“I will.” Eunji laughs. “This probably scares me into listening to my headphones ever again.”

“I hope you live a great life,” Seungyoon says, and Eunji looks at him like he is out of his mind.

“Thanks, I guess?”

“I mean it.” Seungyoon insists. “I hope you are as happy as you can be.”

“You … too?” Eunji says unsurely.

“Goodbye, Eunji.” Seungyoon says and runs into the crowd, ignoring Eunji’s surprised questions of how he knows her name.

He has to go find Taehyun. 

And if he doesn’t exist in this universe, well, Seungyoon guesses he can wait six years until the wormhole machine comes to life and find Taehyun all over again. 

*

Seungyoon finds him. 

Thank god, because six years would be hell of a long time to wait. 

Seungyoon finds him in a café, a block away from Seoul General Hospital where Taehyun was interning when Seungyoon first met him in the other universe. 

Seungyoon’s first instinct is to just run to him, and kiss him and tell him how much he misses him, but that’s not his Taehyun, at least not the first one. 

He is not even sure if the first two universes still exist. If he is back at his decision point, does it mean they get erased? Or do they just go on with their business and Seungyoon disappears from both?

Screw physics. Really. 

But there is a Taehyun, right in front of him, looking exactly as Seungyoon remembers him from the first time that they met, sitting there with his coworkers and putting Tabasco in his ketchup before dipping his French fries in because he is a weirdo. Seungyoon’s weirdo. 

Seungyoon was trying to come up with something, anything to say to Taehyun when he and his friends start to leave. 

“Is there a reason you are staring at me?” Taehyun comes up to him and says instead. 

Of course, he would. This is Taehyun, after all. He would rather confront a creep staring at him across the café instead of just ignoring or giving a silent judgmental glare like a normal person would. 

It has technically been only three or four days, but Seungyoon feels like he hasn’t heard Taehyun’s voice in a century. It is justified, he thinks. He, after all, travelled across two universes and six years in time to hear it again. 

“No, I just.” Seungyoon replies. “I just thought you are the most beautiful thing I saw over the past few days.”

Taehyun furrows his brows – like he always does when he is pleasantly surprised. “You are quite a forward guy, aren’t you?”

“I guess I am.” Seungyoon smiles, and extends his hand. “I am Seungyoon.”

Taehyun looks at him quietly for a few seconds like he is weighing Seungyoon up and down. “Taehyun,” he finally says and take Seungyoon’s hand. 

And it feels as exactly as Seungyoon remembers. 

Six years. Seungyoon will have to relive six years of his life, and he has to start all over again – with Taehyun, with his career, with his life. It will probably be a shit load of déjà vu and struggles that he has to overcome again. But he will be ok. Taehyun is here, and Seungyoon feels like he is on the right path.

Maybe he’ll even remember to pick up the dry cleaning this time around. 

*

** 2016 **

“What is so urgent about this that you can’t just call in?” Taehyun grumbles but kills the car engines. 

“Just five minutes. I promise.” 

“If we miss the flight, just remember that I have access to several drugs that are lethal in right dose.” 

Seungyoon laughs and jumps out of the car.

The office building is quiet and dark, except for, of course, the third level.

“Can I help you?” Minho asks once he opens the door to Seungyoon. “Hey, aren’t you in Logistics? I’ve seen you around.”

“Yeah,” Seungyoon nods and steps inside the lab. Seunghoon looks up from where he is standing next to a machine that Seungyoon honestly wants to just set on fire. “I am here to give you some advice.”

“About what?” Minho blinks.

“Don’t boost the accelerators.”

“I am sorry,” Seunghoon says and strides over to him. “Who are you again, and how do you know about the accelerators?”

“It’s been six years so my memory is a bit fuzzy but basically, don’t boost the accelerators because it’ll expand the gravitational field so much more than you calculated and you’ll probably pull in some unaware bastard from another universe.”

Seunghoon and Minho gape at him. Seungyoon enjoys the petty revenge that he is the one giving the shock of their life for once.

“Are you…” Seunghoon shakes his head, and asks. “Are you saying we can pull in a human being?”

“Yes, but you can’t send him back. Actually, that’s not true. You can send him back but you probably won’t have any idea where, and trust me, it’s better if you just keep sending and getting paper clips.”

“You need to tell us everything you know and how you know.” Seunghoon demands. “Now.”

“Sorry,” Seungyoon shrugs. “But I know you are planning to boost your accelerators in a week, and I am not sure if you’d take my advice, so I am flying halfway across the world just in case.”

“Where are you from?” Minho asks. “Did you… I can’t believe I am asking this. Are you from another verse?”

“I honestly don’t know, but I like this one a lot,” Seungyoon shrugs. “Now, if you’d excuse me, I have a flight to catch.”

“Wait. We need to talk.” Seunghoon runs after him. 

“Don’t boost those accelerators,” Seungyoon turns to him and says. “And I’ll tell you everything I know when I get back from Bali.”

Hopefully, that’d be enough of a persuasion for them.

“Done with your business?” Taehyun looks up from his phone and asks once Seungyoon gets back into the car.

“Yeah, let’s go.” 

Taehyun nods and drives them out of the office. “Your mom texted by the way. Told me to make sure you don’t eat those crawfish you like enough to suffer through rashes.”

“We are going to a beach,” Seungyoon whines. “I am entitled to some seafood.”

“Not the one you are allergic to.” Taehyun says sternly. “She sent me a list.”

Seungyoon groans. “You know, as much as I love how well you two get along, it’s not so great when you both turn against me.”

“Yes, we are conspiring against you to save you from getting sick.” Taehyun snorts and stops at the red light. “How terrible of us.”

Seungyoon smiles over at him, and folds him hand over Taehyun’s on the gear stick, squeezing it a little. 

“You know I love you, right?”

“Duh,” Taehyun answers flippantly, and turns his palm up so he can thread his fingers through Seungyoon. “What’s there not to love?”

“I would, like, travel across universes for you.”

“Ok, turn down the dramatics, Romeo.” Taehyun laughs. “How about you start small and give me a surprise sunset dinner on the beach tomorrow?”

“How is it a surprise if you ask me to plan it?” Seungyoon chuckles.

“Well, it’s a challenge.” Taehyun turns and raises an eyebrow at him. “Surprise me at the surprise dinner that I ask you to throw.”

He did travel across universes for Taehyun. He can take the challenge. 

“I'm sure I can come up with something,” Seungyoon says and slips his hand into his coat pocket, where the velvet ring box he put in this morning is sitting quietly. 

Taehyun grins at him.


End file.
